Concrete that contains no admixtures and that is cured during the winter or other cold conditions can be superior in strength to concrete that is cured during the summer or otherwise relatively warm conditions. This superiority can be achieved only if the concrete is protected from freezing.
Current winter protection techniques entail some form of heat to maintain the temperature of the concrete above freezing until it has developed sufficient strength to resist frost damage and to support structural loads. This adds time and expense to concreting operations.
It would be desirable to cast concrete in such a fashion that the need for external application of heat protection would be reduced or eliminated, while still preventing a portion or all of the water in the curing concrete from freezing, as well as inducing the cement to hydrate at a much faster rate that it normally would at a low temperature. It is noted that such low temperature concrete would be useful during the winter in temperate climates as well as during other cold conditions such as are experienced during the entire year in colder climates.